There were world title fights last weekend in New York City and Hartford, Connecticut, but die-hard boxing fans knew the real place to be on the East Coast was the International Boxing Hall of Fame weekend in upstate (Canastota) New York. The 18th annual induction ceremonies took place in the small town that spawned two world champions - former welterweight and middleweight king Carmen Basilio and his nephew, Billy Backus, who won the welterweight title with a 4th round TKO of Jose Napoles. 

This year’s class was as good as any from prior years. The living fighter inductees were defensive genius Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker, the legendary Roberto Duran, and Ricardo "Finito" Lopez, who won titles in two divisions and ended his 50-plus bout career without ever having tasting defeat. Also inducted and present throughout the weekend was Jose Sulaiman, president of the WBC and Argentina-based trainer Amilcar Brusa, who trained 14 world champions, including Carlos Monzon and more recently, Carlos Baldomir. Artist LeRoy Neiman, who has done fight posters and program covers for countless historic bouts, including Ali-Frazier I, Hagler-Hearns and de la  Hoya-Whitaker, to name a few, was inducted in the non-participant category.

The International Hall of Fame weekend always spans four days - Thursday through Sunday - and allows fans to meet their idols and also fighters to meet the legends they grew up watching. Former world champion Alan Minter, who lost his middleweight titles to Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1980, said during Thursday’s opening ceremonies that when he first visited the Hall two years ago, the experience was "out of this world." He added, "To be with so many fighters you read about, you dream about - well, you don’t dream about them - you read about them, and then all of a sudden you’re in their company and it’s a massive ,massive honor."

Hall of Fame alumni and special guests this year included Duran; Lopez; Whitaker; Brusa; Sulaiman; Backus; Basilio; Minter; Ken Norton; Vinny Paz (formerly Pazienza); George Chuvalo; Arthur  Mercante; James "Buster" Douglas; Alexis Arguello; Ruben Olivares; boxing writer Bert Sugar; Lou Duva; Jose Torres; Carlos Ortiz; Emile Griffith; trainer-turned-commentator Gil Clancy; John H. Stracey; Fighting Harada; referee Stanley Christodoulou; Hagler; matchmaker and promoter Don Chargin; promoter Bob Arum; Vito Antuofermo; Ken Buchanan; Iran "The Blade" Barkley; Gene Fullmer; boxing historian Hank Kaplan; Christy Martin; referee Lou Filipo and promoter and historian J. Russell Peltz. 

A few fighters showed up that weren’t listed on a Hall of Fame newsletter that was sent out prior to induction weekend, such as Lupe Pintor, Livingstone Bramble,  Raul Macias and "Irish" Pat Lawlor, who will never be considered a great fighter but managed to notch wins against Wilfred Benitez and Roberto Duran in back-to-back fights between 1990 and 1991.

Another fighter who made a surprise visit was Ruslan Chagaev, who dethroned Russian giant Nicolay Valuev two months ago to become the WBA heavyweight champion. It was a rather brief visit, but a special one, since reigning heavyweight champions (of any of the three major sanctioning bodies) are not a common sight during Hall of Fame weekend. In fact, the last time it occurred was when Michael Moorer visited in1994 two months after winning a 12-round majority decision against Evander Holyfield.

Whitaker was present for all four days of the induction weekend. Even a couple of days before he would receive his induction ring, he said, "This is the best feeling I’ve had since I won the [Olympic]  gold medal in 1984." That’s saying something considering Whitaker won a slew of world titles between 1984 and present day. Whitaker, just like the thousands of boxing fans that visited the Hall of Fame grounds, got caught up in the magic of the International Hall of Fame weekend. Throughout the weekend, there were ringside lectures, which took place underneath a pavilion that shielded boxing enthusiasts from the hot sun. 

Also featured were celebrity workouts. Welterweight Oscar Diaz, under the watchful eye of trainer Tommy Brooks, got in the ring to give a glimpse into how he prepares for a fight. In addition, Stracey, at 56 years of age, showed he still has good spring in his legs when he did some light sparring with a few amateur fighters and did a few rounds of skipping rope.

A Friday night boxing show at the nearby Turning Stone Casino used to be one of the Hall of Fame events but that was done away with a couple of years ago. It was replaced  last year by a reunion of the 1976 Olympic team and this year’s special Friday event was "A Night of the Middleweights," held at The Rusty Rail Banquet Hall. Hagler, Griffith, Antuofermo, Basilio, Barkley and Fuller and Duran all talked a bit about their careers as highlights from some of their greatest fights played on screens and televisions across the vast hall.

The weekend also included a 5K race, a boxing autograph card show, the Golf Tournament of Boxing Champions, a Parade of Champions on Sunday, for which ring announcer Michael Buffer served as the Grand Marshal, a VIP cocktail reception, a Banquet of Champions, and celebrity fist castings. Douglas, the first man to knock out Mike Tyson, was the only one who had trouble with his fist casting. The pail he was given to place his fist in was too small to pull his hand out without ruining the mold and so he had to be given a large bucket. Douglas was also probably the most  colorfully dressed fighter at Friday’s fist casting. He was wearing a button down shirt with a slew of "Fat Albert" characters all over it.

You never know what you might see at the Hall of Fame. 

On Thursday, Stracey, who showed he’s a former world champion who can carry a tune, belted out "You Raise Me Up," and dedicated it to hometown hero Basilio, who defeated Sugar Ray Robinson 50 years ago for the middleweight title. Near the end of a ringside lecture by Lopez, also on Thursday, Arguello walked over to the speed bag and gave boxing fans an abbreviated peek into what it must have been like to have witnessed him in training camp. Even today, he doesn’t look too different from his prime. He still retains his good looks, his hair and doesn’t appear that far from his fighting weight. Bramble attracted a small crowd Saturday afternoon when he was outside his hotel taking his miniature pincher for  a walk. He looked a lot more approachable than when he used to walk to the boxing ring with a snake around his neck. Lawlor, looking to make a few extra bucks, was selling DVDs of his fights to anyone willing to buy them. Forty dollars could get you both DVDs. Barkley, at one point during the weekend, said he was going to beat Whitaker up a number of years ago for stealing his wallet in the amateurs. He could have given Whitaker a long overdue beating on the Hall of Fame grounds but told the four-division champion "being that you’re getting inducted I’ve got to be a nice guy."

Even when the Hall of Fame festivities ended each day, the fighters were accessible. Many of them spend their nights hanging out and mingling with fans at Graziano’s World Famous Inn and Restaurant, across the street from the Hall of Fame. However, spend enough time there each night and you will see the cost of a glass of juice, never mind the alcohol, spike in price. Graziano’s is  not just a good restaurant that happens to be close to the Hall of Fame. It has a boxing connection. Owner Tony Graziano used to manage Billy Backus. The whole town - not just Graziano’s - seems to support the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Even the young ladies working the registers at McDonald’s were wearing Hall of Fame T-shirts and one of the local gas stations was giving away weekend passes to the Hall of Fame museum as well as tickets for Saturday’s boxing autograph card show.

Hall of Fame Director Ed Brophy estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people made a visit to Canastota for induction weekend. He added this year’s induction class generated international media attention.

"Perhaps it was the most international weekend of both media and fans," said Brophy. While Whitaker and Neiman are from the United States, Lopez hails from Mexico, Duran is from  Panama, Sulaiman was born in Mexico and runs the Mexico-based WBC, and Brusa is from Argentina.

Brophy said the "magic" of Hall of Fame weekend is the accessibility boxing fans have to rub elbows with the great champions of the sport. "I’ve been to every major Hall of Fame," said Bert Sugar. "None is so fan-friendly as the boxing hall of fame."